A lack of parental surveillance and financial responsibilities is the surest route to enjoying the freedoms that college life has to offer. Syracuse University students who stray from the straight and narrow, however, may learn from their overindulgences the hard way.

Senior Khudor Annous discovered this lesson after his fraternity received a noise violation his freshman year. Shortly afterward, he was forced to groom the city of Syracuse in an attractive orange jumpsuit.

‘It was the most humiliating thing,’ said the information technology major. ‘We were shifted around the city in buses wearing these orange suits. When we cleaned the campus, people going to class stared right at us.’

Despite being mildly entertained by the clean-up work, Annous said the entire process was ‘a complete hassle.’

To minimize the disenchantment that accused students like Annous may experience, the Office of Judicial Affairs has made efforts to stem the public exposure they receive. Through Project C.A.R.E. – a program that stands for citizenship, awareness, responsibility and ethics – students are provided with the option to engage in on-campus events rather than traditional community service. This plan often yields stronger results and overall student satisfaction.

Project C.A.R.E. was created in 1999 as a way to provide students with a vast array of potential cultural, artistic and educational experiences promoting personal growth and community involvement.

As the number of students sent to Judicial Affairs continues to rise, says Juanita Williams, director of the Office of Judicial Affairs, so will the different outlets of service available to them. Approximately 150 students participated in 451 campus and community events during the 2003-04 school year.

‘Judicial affairs referral students who do service on campus far outnumber the students who go outside,’ Williams said. ‘We feel that by becoming part of a group here on campus, they are becoming more connected to the community as well.’

A total of 1,411 student cases were referred to the University Judicial System during the last academic year. Of those cases, 846 of them were related to drug or alcohol abuse. In the past, students accused of violating laws were given the option of either paying a fine or fulfilling a service requirement contingent on the crime. Today, students who are sent to Judicial Affairs are more likely to accept responsibility for their actions through programs or sanction service on campus. These events range anywhere from lectures and research participation to art exhibits and spirituality programs.

‘The students coming here are looking to reconnect themselves to student life,’ Williams said. ‘Just because it’s the right thing to do, community service doesn’t always fit the student.’

The noise violation that earned senior television, radio and film major Vince Piotti eight hours of community service was enough to make him dissatisfied with the type of punishment he received. Even after stocking shelves at the Salvation Army, Piotti said he learned more valuable lessons from getting written up than by performing the service.

‘I learned that Syracuse residents near campus get cheaper rent but expect the standards of a non-university community,’ Piotti said. ‘Community service is effective, but what I did was not.’

Williams says that many students end up frustrated by their service placement simply because they lack a wide scope of places to choose from. She added that a lot of students have success through programs offered by The Center for Public and Community Service, yet the center sometimes limits the number of sites available to them.

‘If students are sent to CPCS, it’s usually only because they asked for it,’ Williams said. ‘But volunteer work with a professor or research work is the type of service that connects them to campus and gives them the credibility they need.’

Pamela Heintz, the director of CPCS, said students may choose from service sites such as the Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels or The Rescue Mission, and volunteers often continue visiting agencies even after their service requirement is competed.

The protocol Judicial Affairs uses for counseling students involves their choosing a college of choice and three events within that college. The students are then expected to turn in a written report for each event. In addition to these commitments, C.A.R.E. participants may also be required to sign up for a decision-making or conflict resolution workshop.

Although she was unable to provide student names due to confidentiality rules, Williams – who has worked one-on-one with students since her arrival at SU four years ago – referred to several success stories from students who have participated in Project C.A.R.E. For instance, one student began her own concert booking business after becoming more involved with campus affairs. During another circumstance, an architect major she counseled told her, ‘Judicial Affairs is the best thing that ever happened to me.’

By establishing an essay requirement for each on-campus event, Project C.A.R.E. is able to demand more tangible proof of involvement than what may be expected from community service projects.

Senior women’s studies and advertising major Heidi Pitzer, for example, was easily able to avoid a community service requirement sparked by an underage drinking violation.

‘We had bottles of booze lining the room during our ’80s party … we managed to hide all of them quickly except for one,’ Pitzer said. ‘We were supposed to do service with our resident adviser after that, but we never did it.’

Skeptical of a program like C.A.R.E., Pitzer added that because most college students are almost 21, many of them drink regardless of whether or not they receive a paper assignment.

Piotti, on the other hand, is optimistic about the potential effectiveness of a project based on the belief that community service can be beneficial if chosen personally.

‘Community service is valuable and can be valuable. If it is on-campus it can be just as valuable,’ Piotti said. ‘I wouldn’t have taken those workshops, but it depends on what (crime) you do.’

Williams says students learn to benefit from the program in ways far beyond becoming involved with extra-curricular campus events or groups. Through individual counseling, they also learn how to analyze the course of their personal goals and ambitions.

‘For many students who come through it, this is the first time they’ve been given the opportunity to reflect on their experiences here,’ Williams said. ‘They come to Judicial Affairs trying to find out who they are and what decisions are going to get them to goals they’ve worked hard to learn.’

By contrast, when Annous was forced to perform community service, his counseling process consisted of talking to judicial affairs officials who, he says, ‘sat us down and scolded us.’

‘I would probably learn more from a new Judicial Affairs system … it would become beneficial,’ Annous said.

In providing an alternate form of service and campus involvement, Project C.A.R.E. is working with students to make sure they stay on track from the beginning to the end of their formative college years.

‘Some students don’t feel valued in this community … they fall into bad habits by getting off track, and we put them back on track by mandating it,’ Williams said. ‘Students want to contribute here; they just need to ask the question, ‘What can I do?”

Published on February 23, 2005 at 12:00 pm